In the financial subplot of Indonesia's political transformation, few events have demonstrated the progress and pitfalls as clearly as the agreement this week between PT Astra International and its creditors on how the company will pay back more than $1 billion in debt.
Astra is a $1.7 billion company with interests from palm oil to Nike shoes. It is best known, however, for assembling the Toyota utility vehicles and Honda motorcycles that choke this city's streets as well as for its ties to the business empire of former President Suharto's family and friends.
After eleven months of negotiations, Astra held a signing ceremony and banquet Wednesday to commemorate the deal. Coming as it did in a week of quickening signs that Indonesia's prospects are improving, the ceremony was heralded as a turning point for both the company and the nation's economy.
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